Where would Borat be without the Mankini? Or Bruno without his Velcro suit?

Artist Jason Alper has been the right-hand man to Sacha Baron-Cohen’s left for nearly 15 years, creating the look—and the shocking costumes—of the comic’s legendary characters Ali G., Borat, and Bruno.

Artist Jason Alper.Now the British-born costume designer is veering off in a different direction—though not too far off. These days, he does most of his work on canvas, as opposed to Baron-Cohen’s torso. “After Bruno, I spent three months going to galleries in New York and L.A. I didn’t see anything particularly inventive, and, more importantly, I didn’t see anything I would want to put on my wall. Without sounding facetious, I thought maybe I could do better.”

While Baron-Cohen is world renowned for his acts of gonzo subterfuge, he rarely gives interviews. Yet when it came to supporting his colleague’s budding career, he decided it was necessary to speak up: “I told him, ‘You can’t even draw a circle. How are you going to put on an exhibition?’”In fact, Alper’s first show completely sold out, and his second debuts on September 25 at the Guy Hepner Gallery in Beverly Hills. The exhibition’s title? “Proletarian Drift and the Enfranchisement of the Bourgeoisie in the 21st Century,” says Alper. It sounds catchy and certainly smart, but the eternal question looms: What does it all mean? “Beforehand, only the upper crust would wear the high-end stuff, like Chanel and Louis Vuitton. Now the complete opposite has happened. My show is a reflection of that.”

Alper’s fashion is savvy conspicuously displayed throughout the show, thanks to his decision to slap that all-too-familiar L.V. symbol on every single piece. “I feel Louis Vuitton’s logo is the most iconic,” he says. “It’s emerged as an art form in itself.” Art purists, if any exist in Beverly Hills, are sure to be appalled by his interpretations of some of the world’s greatest masterpieces: The Mona Lisa, The Last Supper (now titled Who’s Paying?), and Gainborough’s Blue Boy. “Sure, Mona’s publicist will be mad,” muses Baron-Cohen. “But screw her—she’s a self-righteous Kabbalist.”

Alper’s draftsmanship might be primitive, but vision is what matters. That and the ability to delegate when it comes to its execution—something that Andy Warhol was a master at. Baron-Cohen, for one, sees a definitive link between Alper’s pieces and Warhol’s celebrated oeuvre. “[Their work is] identical,” he says. “I believe they’re collaborating on Jason’s next show.”

But will people embrace it? While his Mankini may have strained against the confines of propriety (and physics), there is no doubt that Alper is an artist, and it is indeed a work of art, resplendent in Day-Glo green. Just ask John Mayer.

VF Daily: Why Louis Vuitton and not Gucci?

Jason Alper: I love the fact a logo that was originally associated only with fashion at one point is now associated with art on its own.

Even more than Chanel?

There’s more that you can do with it. I wanted a logo that most people could relate to, and coming from England—especially where I come from in England—do you know what a “chav” is? That’s kind of a nod to them.

So your work is parody?

What’s wrong with parody? This falls under satire. Look, if I were doing handbags, and using [Louis Vuitton’s] logos, I’d get fucked. They don’t make art, and I don’t make handbags. It’s an homage to them; I’m not mocking them.

You said you can’t really draw. Explain your success in fashion.

Well, I can draw, but I just draw like a five-year-old. But I understand the logistics of how clothing is put together, and what we’re trying to achieve in a scene. All the costumes I’ve created are almost like another character.

Without his costumes, Bruno is nothing.

Thank you, madam. I’ll make sure I tell [Sacha] that. Or I’ll just send him this article.

Alper's personal photographs of Sacha Baron-Cohen.

In your last show, you had a work titled I Must Not Be Facetious that was done up like an illuminated eye chart. It didn’t sell.

I did that piece because I had to write it out 5,000 times at school. So I am really having the last word. It was a sad state of affairs when numerous people expressed interest in the piece but had no idea what “facetious” meant. I know the word, of course, because I had to write it out 5,000 times and I’m still being facetious, so what does that tell us?

Do you have a favorite piece in this new show?

Blue Boy’s my favorite. When I was little, I used to stay at my aunt’s and play with my cousins and she had Blue Boy up on her wall.

Was it the original?

Of course. But let me get back to you on that.

How many pieces in this show?

Nine so far—I wanted to cover up the front part of the gallery.

What’s going to go in the back?

I don’t know—maybe prostitutes and massage?

Artwork from Alper's new show. The Stigmatization of Fashion.

Brown Boy.

Chanel Lego Sculpture.

Let Go My Lego Logo.

Mona LVisa.

Much of your work is associated with commercialism.

I want to be commercial. I want to have the best platform for my work. I can’t see the reason to create it if no one is going to see it. I know loads of artists that are like, “Oh, no. I don’t want to show anyone my work.” What’s that about? It’s pure madness.

Do you think that’s fear of success? Or fear of failure?

I don’t know. I’m lucky. I’ve never really failed at anything—apart from school. And school’s rubbish—what has it ever taught anyone?

What do you think of the term “starving artist”?

I threw everything into my first art show—all my savings. Funded the whole thing, and was effectively shitting myself the whole time, up until the doors opened. But my best work comes out when I’ve got nothing. And you know what? No one is starving. Twinkies are cheap.

I can’t continue this conversation without bringing up the Mankini. It haunts me.

Bear in mind that in the script, Borat was always talking about bathing his Kazak body. I wanted the top half to be a throwback to Eastern European weight-lifters. The bottom half was always going to be a thong, and I wanted to cut the front of it really narrow. You’ll notice that when you see Borat running, he runs with his knees outward. The reason being, when he was in the Mankini, and he ran with his knees forward, gravity

His manhood falls out?

Exactly.

And that color it’s so green.

I wanted a color that was really 80s; Day-Glo green is so unattractive, even at the best of times, and God bless Sacha, what a canvas I had to work with. The hairy legs; it was pure comedy. And after all, sex sells.

Closing note: Come 2012, Borat’s famous suit will be part of an exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, entitled Reel People: The Art of Hollywood Costume Design, displaying the 100 most iconic film costumes of the last 100 years, like the ruby slippers from The Wizard of Oz and the gown made of curtains from Gone with the Wind. Baron-Cohen is thrilled with his character’s induction. “It’ll certainly be the most aromatic costume,” he laughs. “It was never washed during the four years of performing Borat.”